Strange Places
by Angeline-dark
Summary: WIP After Harry defeats Voldemort, he finds himself in a strange place. To his dismay Severus Snape is trapped there along with him. Meanwhile the Order looks for a way to bring them back. HPSS SLASH
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: The characters used in this story, all belong to J.K.Rowling. They are not mine, even if I would wish otherwise. No copyright infringement is intended._

_Rating: R_

_Pairing: Harry/Severus_

_Summary: After Harry defeats Voldemort, he finds himself in a strange place. To his dismay Severus Snape is trapped there along with him. Meanwhile the Order looks for a way to bring them back. HP/SS, SLASH_

_A/N: I want to thank my wonderful beta Kuteki for helping me with this, all remaining mistakes are solely my fault. _

**Strange Places**

Harry began chanting the spell and suddenly there was this strange feeling. It felt like his mind, or soul, or both, were expanding, getting bigger and bigger, becoming much too large for his body, then leaving it behind altogether. For one eternal second he felt like he was one with the universe and everything in it.

It was like he was every living being at once, seeing what they saw, thinking what they thought, feeling what they felt, and it frightened him more than anything else ever had. It was bloody fantastic, but it was also too much for him, too many sensations assaulting his senses. Suddenly, there was absolute silence, it was like the whole universe had stopped for a moment, to take a deep breath and look at him, lending him its strength, readying itself for what he was about to do. He looked down and saw himself.

He looked at his body, seeing himself standing there was odd, to say the least. He heard the final words of the incantation coming from his lips. How could his body still be casting the spell, when he was here, wasn't in it anymore to command its actions? But somehow it did and as he watched enthralled, the last word of the spell was said, the hand – his hand- that was clinging to a wand –his wand- shaking with the power that was coursing through it.

There was a flash-wave of bright white light, too bright to look at, expanding into every direction like an enormous soap bubble and then, when the wave had left his immediate surroundings, there was this feeling again, as suddenly as it had first appeared, but this time it was the opposite, it felt like he was being crammed, remodelled and pushed back into his body, which he had been looking at from above, just a moment before.

He felt drawn, pulled to it by thousands of invisible ropes. A shell that now seemed entirely too small to take all of him in, but somehow it worked, because he looked through his own bespectacled eyes again, was again just Harry Potter, instead of the all encompassing being, the spell had made of him for these frightening, amazing moments.

He looked around, only now beginning to take in his surroundings. The large circle of burned grass, the crumbled form of his archenemy lying only a few feet away. A small heap of burned skin and twisted bones that could barely be recognised for having been human once. Not that Voldemort had been exactly human in the end. Since his second resurrection, he neither looked entirely human, nor was there any real humanity left in him, anymore.

Death was precisely what the bastard had deserved, for years of unfoundedly torturing and killing so many people. Just because he could do it and took pleasure in their suffering. Some of those people had been close to Harry, family, friends, all lost because a sick man wanted more and more power, wanted to rule the whole wizarding world.

But the Dark Lord hadn't succeeded. In the end Harry had won, because of his humanity, his love, his will to sacrifice himself, so that the others could survive. The spell he had used to magnify his powers could only be cast, if the caster didn't intend to use it for a selfish purpose. That was why Voldemort had never succeeded in casting it.

According to Snape's reports, the Dark Lord had tried again and again, and afterwards, angered by failing once more, he had randomly used the Cruciatus Curseon his followers, none of them were safe from his rage and they all attempted to avoid him as much as possible at such times. On other occasions when Voldemort decided that inflicting pain on his Death Eaters wasn't good enough to cheer up his mood, he did torture anybody being unlucky enough to be his prisoner at that time.

He had used horrible curses and experimental potions on the unfortunate prisoners until they were glad to finally die, their throats raw from hours of screaming and begging. Thank Merlin, that Voldemort had never achieved to get the power he was after, otherwise the fate of the wizarding world would have been dire.

But fortunately, it hadn't come to that. Harry had won their final battle. So why didn't Harry feel content? Why didn't he feel great, fantastic, happy like he always had imagined it to feel when the Dark Lord was once more defeated and this time for good? He was glad, of course, that Voldemort was finally dead, but it felt rather anticlimactic.

Harry was standing there, his robes hanging in torn rags from his lean form, with mud on his face and his right hand clutched around thin air, because his wand had shattered into tiny pieces, too weak to channel all the raw energy which had suddenly burst through it.

He didn't feel at all like a hero, like a glorious victor. In the end he'd had nothing but pity left for Voldemort. After all, in some ways he had been just another victim of unfortunate circumstances that had shaped him. Maybe if someone had taught Tom Riddle how to feel anything other than greed and hatred, had taught him what love was, had shown him some kindness while he was younger, he might not have become a dark wizard.

Harry had long ago realised that the same could happen to anyone, could have happened to him if it hadn't been for his friends, mentors and fellow brothers and sisters in arms: the Order of the Phoenix.

The Order, he suddenly realised, they had been with him to fight the Death Eaters while he was facing off Voldemort, where were they?

"Bollocks," he swore loudly. "I hope they're all right...please, let them not be dead, not them too," he quietly prayed, before he stumbled away from the still smoking heap, that had once been Voldemort, searching his surroundings for any signs of life. It would have been a lot easier if he still had his wand, but it was damaged beyond repair.

Surrounding him were bushes and trees that obviously hadn't been harmed by the magical fire, so damn many of them. They had been useful while they had waited for Voldemort and his followers to appear for their secret gathering. Had provided places to hide, while they had watched their meeting, but now they only made his search harder.

Where the hell were all the Death Eaters anyway? Had they run away, or had they continued to fight, even when it had become obvious that their leader wouldn't win. He neither saw their black robes nor the dark red ones of the Order. Nothing. Just grass and bushes and trees, no sign of anyone being there except for him.

He began to walk, with no specific direction. He let his intuition guide him, he had learned to trust it to lead him, because it was right more times than not. It could have been hours, or only minutes that had passed while he walked around without knowing where he was or where he was headed.

Finally he saw the edge of a red battle cloak. The rest of it was obscured by a large bush, so he couldn't see if there was someone there, or if it was just a discarded piece of clothing, thrown away in the heat of the battle.

Harry cautiously approached and lifted the lower branches of the bush to get a better look at what was under it. When he finally saw who the person lying there was, he didn't know if he should be relieved or frustrated, because it was no one other than Severus Snape, his most hated, greasy-haired, former Potions professor. Snape was certainly the very last person he wanted to see right now, but it was in any case better than being totally alone.

Maybe he would know where the others had disappeared to, but first Harry had to find out if Snape was still alive, because the professor had his eyes closed and hadn't moved since Harry had found him. He laid two fingers on Snape's wrist to check for a pulse and was relieved when he found it was slow but steady. Even if he couldn't stand the obnoxious git, he wouldn't have wanted him to be dead. After all, Snape was a vital member of the Order and his research had been essential for the outcome of this war.

It was just that the two of them had never quite managed to overcome the hatred, even downright loathing they had felt for each other ever since their first meeting.

He had never liked the professor, because of the unfair way Snape treated him in class and after what had happened in Harry's fifth year at Hogwarts, with the whole Occlumency disaster, he hated Snape more than he ever hated anyone else, expect for maybe Voldemort. The man had broken into his most private thoughts and had ridiculed them. Harry wouldn't ever forgive him for that. He also still blamed Snape, for not letting him attend his Advanced Potions classes, just because he slightly missed the Outstanding that was required and therefore destroying all of Harry's chances of ever becoming an Auror.

Snape had always been harsh and unforgiving towards Harry. He probably still thought that Harry was a spoiled celebrity, the bane of his existence, only being there to make his live harder. And his hatred had increased a great deal after Harry had got an unintended look at Snape's pensieve and saw that embarrassing incident from his past.

Maybe he thought that Harry was secretly still laughing over it and making fun about it with his friends, when all Harry had really felt after seeing the memory was shame, for what his father and godfather had done.

Over the years there had been countless of other things, most of them misunderstandings on both parts, to add to the bad feelings between them. After Harry had finished his education at Hogwarts and started to work full-time for the Order, they still hadn't gotten along much better.

They had come to some kind of a truce for the sake of the Order and the missions, on which they had to fight side by side and couldn't let themselves be distracted by anything at all. This truce mainly consisted of getting out of each other's way as much as - and talking as little as - possible with each other.

But now here he was and Snape was there too and if they didn't find anyone other soon, they would have to work together to survive the night, which would be freezing cold at this time of the year. If they didn't find any shelter soon, they would have to spend the night outside, without a tent or blankets to keep them warm. Something Harry most certainly didn't intend to do if it could be helped.

First he would have to get Snape to regain consciousness though, because the Potions Master seemed to be knocked out by a spell or maybe a blast to the head. Harry crawled further under the bush to get closer to the other man. He non-too-gently shook his former professor and was rewarded for his effort with a soft moan and Snape's eyelids slowly fluttering open.

"I see you're finally awake, Professor," Harry said. "Are you injured?"

Snape opened his eyes fully and gazed at Harry bleary-eyed. For a moment he seemed to be confused about his whereabouts and how exactly he had come to be in this predicament but then, realisation dawned on his face and he tried to move first his legs, then his arms. Once they turned out to be working properly, he supported himself with his hands on the ground and managed to push himself up into a sitting position. He experimentally moved his head and as it turned out to be undamaged too, his face returned to its usual scowling expression and he finally answered Harry's question.

"It seems, Potter, that I am unharmed, apart from a slight headache," Snape said. "If you would be so nice to inform me now, what has happened since that trice-damned Malfoy caught me with a well aimed curse?"

"Well, let's see. I cast the spell, felt like I was the master of the universe for a moment, there was that bright, mighty shock-wave. Suddenly I'm back in my body, dear old Voldie is nothing but ashes. Then, once I don't feel like someone has just punched me in the guts anymore, I get up and look for fellow Order members, who where nearby the last time I checked, but have all suddenly disappeared now. Expect for you, whom I found after searching for a while under this bush. Has this narration been satisfying to your curiosity, Snape?" Harry said snappishly. He hadn't intended to be this harsh, but the realisation that Voldemort was really gone for good and therefore the war was finally over, had just started to kick in and he felt overwhelmed by all of it.

Snape refrained from commenting on his tone of voice, he just raised an eyebrow and glared at him. "So the spell did work and you have achieved to defeat the Dark Lord?" he finally said.

Harry nodded his head in agreement, anticipating that it was only the opening sentence of the tirade that would certainly follow. He was proven right.

"Very well, as much as it pains me to admit it, you did something right, for once," Snape continued. "Of course, the spell was foolsafe and also don't forget, that I was the one to discover it. A spell that even a complete moron like yourself could cast," he sneered, gloating with the knowledge that he had been the one to find the spell, which had saved them all.

Harry gritted his teeth and barely managed to restrain himself from attacking the greasy bastard and beating the sneer out of him. "If you feel up to it, we should go and continue to search for other survivors, some sort of shelter for the night would also be a good idea, it's beginning to get colder," he said, trying to keep his anger in check.

"Of course, Potter, do give me a moment to look for my wand and I will be ready to leave," Snape said, scanning the ground surrounding them, with his eyes. When he didn't see it, he fumbled about the ground with his elegant hands, until he finally found his lost wand hidden under some leaves.

"Bloody Hell," he muttered. It was snapped just two inches under the tip, the damaged end hanging down limply and showing that the wand's core consisted of Thestraltail hairs, which both he and Harry could see clearly. The damage to it was probably caused by him falling on it, when the spell had hit him, bugger his rotten luck.

"I don't believe your wand survived Voldemort's demise?" Snape hopefully asked.

Harry just silently shook his head.

"Mr. Potter, it looks like we are in much greater trouble than I first assumed," Snape said.

"What should we do now?" Harry asked.

"Do use your brain for a change. We will do exactly as you said before. Search for other survivors and in case we do not find anyone we will seek out shelter for the night." Snape said sounding annoyed.

Harry held out his hand to help Snape stand up, but it was ignored like he should have known it would. Once Snape stood and the slight dizziness in his head had subsided, the two of them began to walk in silence having nothing further to say to each other at the moment.

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_A/N: Read it? Enjoyed it? Please review!_


	2. Chapter 2

§ Meanwhile at the Order's headquarters at Number 12 Grimmauld Place §

Yet another group of survivors apparated into the entrance hall of house number 12 at Grimmauld Place, after having delivered the Death Eaters, they had captured, to the Aurors already awaiting them at the ministry, to finally imprison every last one of Voldemort's followers.

Molly Weasley, after sending the more seriously injured people upstairs to get medical treatment, ushered the rest of the group into the magically enlarged kitchen, where tea and a warm meal was already waiting for them. Something most of the people arriving were in dire need of, after hours of fighting, which had drained them physically and psychologically. Some of them had open wounds or were suffering from the after-effects of various hexes and curses and all of them were covered in dirt and other more ugly things, about which most of them avoided to think.

The red headed woman kept scanning the crowd of newcomers and, when she once more hadn't spotted the one she was looking for, got even more worried than she had been before. Every new group who apparated there without Harry being in it, made her heart feel a tad bit heavier. Thank Merlin, all of her children had arrived by now.

Fortunately, none of them were seriously hurt, just some scratches and bruises. The twins were still affected by a Furnunculus Curse, but they already had been treated with a counter-potion. They all were exhausted, of course, but a good night's sleep would hopefully cure that.

Having the knowledge that her children were save, she couldn't help but be sick with worry about the young man, who was like another son to her. After all, he was the one who had to face Voldemort, while the others merely had to deal with average Death Eaters. Not that You-Know-Who's followers were easily defeated. No, not at all. Many of her fellow Order members had been injured or had given their lives during the battle, but the Dark Lord was so powerful and Harry was barely more than a boy.

Molly asked the latest arrivals the same questions she had asked everyone before them. "Have you seen Harry anywhere? Is he alive?" Nobody could give her a valid answer to it, some had seen him, but that had been hours ago in most cases. She went again to her waiting position in the entrance hall and when she was sure that no more fighters would arrive within the next minutes, she slowly walked up the stairs to the makeshift hospital wing they had set up on the first floor.

She opened the door and was, once more, shocked at the large number of injured men and women, who were treated there. Many Mediwitches, Healers and Nurses had volunteered to help out in the Order's makeshift hospital, because there were too many people, who needed immediate medical attention, for Poppy to manage it alone and they had no other place to be at the moment. Unfortunately St. Mungos had been attacked and nearly destroyed by Death Eaters a month ago. It would have been so much easier to tread the patients there, but the reconstruction of the hospital wouldn't be finished for months and so they had to cope with what they had.

Every imaginable wound to be inflicted by a curse was present somewhere in this room and some of the darker curses had really gruesome results. Molly shuddered just from thinking about them. During the last weeks she had seen things she desperately wanted to erase from her brain, because they haunted her sleep. Vivid images of pain, destruction and horrible injuries followed her into her nightmares and wouldn't let her get any rest.

She had thought, more than once, about obliviating herself, but the outcomes of that spell were too unreliable, when cast onto oneself. Maybe, when this all was over, she would ask her husband to do it for her. She was a strong woman, but even she had a breaking point.

Trying not to look too much at the wounded or dying people lying in two long rows of beds to her left and right she gathered her courage and walked straight to where Albus was sitting in a chair, holding Remus Lupin's hand and talking quietly to the also present Sirius Black, who occupied another chair at Remus' bedside and was gently stroking the werewolf's greying hair.

"Albus," she interrupted their conversation as soon as she reached the bed, "Harry still isn't back. I'm beginning to go crazy, being confined to this house and not being able to go looking for him," she said, frustration evident in her voice. "I'm sick with worry over him, he is not much more than a child and shouldn't have to do a task as dangerous as fighting You-Know-Who. What if he is injured, lying somewhere in need of help and no one is there?" The tears that she had held at bay for hours now, finally began to spill and ran in small rivulets down her cheeks, while she quietly began to sob.

Sirius stood up and gently gathered her into his arms. "Shh Molly, we are all worried about him, but he will be all right. Harry is strong and powerful, he will defeat Voldemort. I'm sure he will," he said.

The same mantra, which he had been telling himself for hours now. Otherwise he wouldn't have been able to stay with Remus, but would have run off to go looking for his godson long ago. But Remus' condition was critical at the moment and he couldn't leave his lover alone right now.

Sirius couldn't bear to lose his Moony again and he was afraid that the injured werewolf somehow would feel his absence and his condition would worsen because of it. So he had continued to grit his teeth and wait for any news on Harry's condition or whereabouts.

Once Molly's sobs had died down a bit, he led her to sit on the chair he had used earlier. Albus looked at the red-headed woman until her puffy, brown eyes met his bespectacled ones, then he began to speak to her in a comforting tone of voice.

"Molly, my dear, I know you are worried, but we can do nothing at the moment. It is going to be getting dark soon and we won't be able to look for him in the darkness," he said. "Tomorrow morning, I will personally lead the search if he hasn't come back until then. Furthermore, I think that Severus is with him, after all he was the one to anchor Harry during the _Dominormundure _spell, even though neither of them is currently aware of that fact. I thought that it would make matters easier, to not tell them about it and what exactly the implications of that position are, but if they are still alive, they are together somewhere. Do not worry, for Harry is not alone."

"But...but Snape of all people, you know they hate each other with a passion." Molly said, her voice nearly drowned out by Sirius' shouted "What the hell?"

Which gained him a stern look from Madame Pomfrey, who approached him and gave him a severe lecture on why exactly you never ever shouted in a hospital room full of injured people. After Sirius was reduced to a cowering heap and she was satisfied that he would respect her rules from now on, she went to tend to her patients again.

Once Sirius had recovered from the force, the nurse was, he turned his attention to Albus again and asked, this time less loudly, "What do you mean with implications of that position? What have you done to Harry?"

The Headmaster twinkled at him. "Why my boy, I have just done what was necessary to ensure Harry's safety."

"And what exactly has the Snivellus to do with my godson's safety?" Sirius spat out.

"Well, Harry needed someone who kept him grounded, while casting the spell, otherwise there would have been the possibility that his astral form wouldn't find its way back into his body. So I created a temporary link between their subconscious which would guide Harry back. Neither of them is aware of that link at the moment, but they will feel compelled to be separated no more than a short distance from each other, because of it," Albus said.

He chuckled quietly. "When Severus found the spell we decided to use, during his research, he wasn't aware of that matter. I only discovered it by accident in a very old scroll that somehow appeared on my desk at the right time. My office can have a mind of its own, in such matters sometimes. I have cast the necessary spells to create the link, the scroll described and have conveniently forgotten to tell him and Harry about it,"

"So you say that they are linked somehow?" Molly asked, because Sirius seemed to be at a loss of words, he just stood there gaping like a goldfish.

"Yes Molly, exactly," the Headmaster answered her.

"But the link isn't permanent...Albus, please tell me it isn't permanent," Sirius, who had finally rediscovered his ability to speak, said.

"No need to worry, my boy, the link is only temporary...at the moment." Albus said.

"A...at...the...moment?" Sirius stammered.

"Oh, didn't I already tell you?" Albus asked innocently. "If they were to spend a prolonged period of time together now and have a certain amount of skin on skin contact during that time, the link would eventually not only work on their subconscious, but on their minds and souls as well and would become permanent."

"What?" Sirius and Molly asked in unison.

"What is meant to be, will come to be." Was Albus' mystical reply.

"And that would mean?" Sirius asked angrily.

"It will all work out in the end." Was the only answer, Albus gave him.

The Headmaster patted Remus' hand once more, than he got up and headed towards the door in a swirl of green dotted, purple robes.

Molly and Sirius watched his departure open-mouthed, then looked at each other and sighed. Albus' words promised nothing good. They shuddered in unison at the mere thought of being linked forever, to the dour Potions master. He was certainly not the person they wanted for Harry to spend the rest of his life with, like such bonds demanded of the people linked together.

Their only hope was, that they would manage to find Harry soon enough, to avoid a permanent link arising between him and Snape.

_A/N: Read it? Enjoyed it? Please review!_


	3. Chapter 3

§ About an hour later, at the place, where the final battle against Voldemort had been fought §

"What do you mean there is a magical energy barrier? Why should there be such a thing?" Severus asked, pinching the bridge of his nose, in an attempt to get the major headache he was sprouting to lessen somewhat.

"If you won't believe me, come here and test it for yourself." Harry shouted back. "I can't move any further in this direction, because I keep hitting and invisible wall, ergo it has to be made of magical energy. At least according to what I have read in that book about the theory of magic, Dumbledore gave me."

"It is theoretically possible, though I have never heard of something like that occurring in reality. But if you insist it is there." Severus forced his tired body to get up from the large rock he had been sitting on and slowly walked to where he'd heard Potter's voice coming from.

He stood next to him and stretched out his arms until his hands, to his surprise, really hit something invisible.

"See, I told you so, there is something there." Harry said haughtily.

"Maybe it is only in this particular place and we will have more luck a few meters to the side." Severus said, already walking further away. He tried again more to the left, but the outcome was the same, his hands hit a solid barrier. After he had repeated this on the right, with the same outcome, he had to admit his defeat.

"Well, it seems that the barrier is larger than I assumed. It might be a previously unknown side effect of the spell you cast. After all, you were the first one to cast it successfully since Merlin and he wasn't known to make detailed notes about the spells he discovered. Whatever it may be, we can do nothing about it tonight. It will be dark soon and we still need to find a sheltered place to rest," Severus said.

"Actually, I think I saw something that would fit on our way here. It looked like there was a cave entrance near this clearing we passed earlier." Harry said. "Also have you noticed that our surroundings seem to be different than before, when we followed the Death Eaters to Voldemort's hiding place?"

"Indeed, I have," Severus answered courtly. "However, I am tired and want to reach that cave before darkness. We will have the opportunity to resume this discussion tomorrow, after we have slept."

"Good, let's go then," Harry said and began to walk in the direction of the clearing, not bothering to look back if Snape would follow him, or to wait for the other man to catch up with him.

Severus sighed heavily and walked after him.

Prior to discovering the barrier they had wandered around and looked for their fellow Order members, with no result. They hadn't even found a trace of their fellow fighters ever being there. No blood, no torn off pieces of clothing, no tracks, nothing at all. It was like no one had been here before, wherever here was. The land they had walked through didn't even remotely look like the one they had been in earlier. It was vaguely familiar, but there were obvious differences.

There were trees and large rocks, where none had been when they had followed the Death Eater's tracks. They had also come across a little lake, which Harry would bet his Firebolt on, hadn't been there before. It was confusing, to say the least.

They didn't even know exactly, in which country they were. They had apparated to the general area where Voldemort and his followers would meet, using a complicated tracking spell. They could still be in Scotland, or in Norway, or even in Bulgaria for all Harry knew. He probably should have had paid more attention during Geography lessons in the muggle school the Dursleys had sent him to, maybe then he would have had a clue on where they were.

Much to his amusement Snape was as clueless about their whereabouts as himself. The Potions Master had never attended a muggle school, but had been home-schooled by his mother. He never had learned much about geography, other than where the largest wizarding communities were situated, as he had hesitantly admitted to Harry, once asked if he knew where they were.

The only thing that mattered to Harry, at the moment, was that it was getting cold, icy cold to be more exact and the torn rugs, which his clothing mostly consisted of, did nothing to warm him. He was glad, that he had worn muggle jeans and a T-shirt under his robes. They had, unlike his destroyed robes, survived the fight to some degree, but they weren't exactly fitting for the temperatures here and the holes and rips they had, didn't help matters either.

At least Snape had refrained from commenting on the state of his attire.

Harry walked faster to warm himself up a little. He dearly hoped that the thing he had seen earlier was really an entrance to a cave and that it would be warmer in there. Maybe somehow they would even manage to produce a fire.

After another quarter of an hour of walking, Snape trailing, grumbling along, behind him, they reached their destination. It turned out to indeed be an entrance to a cave. The cave itself was fortunately large enough that the two of them could stand upright in it and even walk around a bit. Its floor was dry and they would be sheltered from wind and rain in there.

Another positive thing about the cave was, that there existed a stream of water, which disembogued into a small pond, on the other side of the clearing. So, fortunately, they wouldn't have to walk far to get water and in case they had to stay here longer than a night, they could also use it to bathe and wash their hair. Harry doubted if Snape ever washed his, deducing from the look of it.

Harry used the opportunity of having water, to get rid of the mud, still covering his face and hands. After his skin was clean once more and he had drunk some of the water too, he walked to the cave entrance, into which Snape had already disappeared.

Once inside the cave again, Harry slumped down with his back leaning against a stony wall. He felt not simply tired, but completely drained by all that had happened on this day. Soon he began to tremble. The cave was rather cold, not as icy as outside, but still not warm enough to let him feel comfortable.

"We need a fire." Harry said to the Potions Master, who was sitting at the opposite wall of the cave in a position resembling Harry's.

"Unless you are able to perform wandless magic, I see no way how we could light one. Or maybe you know about a muggle way to make fire, Potter?" Snape answered, his typical sneer firmly in place.

"You know, well enough, that the spell drained my magic too much, to even think about doing anything wandless for at least a month." Harry said. "But I think I do remember something I saw once on the muggle television."

During his last summer at the Dursleys, there had been this special about survival training on the BBC, which he had been able to watch, while he was dusting the living room. Dudley had found it boring, of course, but as his favourite TV show had been cancelled on that day, he had watched it anyway.

If Harry recalled correctly, you needed something made of metal. The Swiss-army knife, Sirius had given him for his eighteenth birthday should do, if he hadn't lost it during the battle. He reached into his jeans' pocket and happily discovered that it was still there. He pulled it out and flipped the tiny knife open.

Now, he only had to remember what else was needed. Wood, of course. They could go gather some outside, he had seen a lot of dried branches littered over the ground of the clearing and in the forest surrounding it would surely be more. They would also need dried grass, which could probably be found near the secluded cave entrance. But he didn't know where they could find the most important thing, flint. Maybe Snape would know, as pulverised flint was an essential ingredient for some potions, if he remembered correctly.

Snape had watched him, puzzlement clearly visible in his gaze, as Harry had pulled out the knife. The Potions Master couldn't guess for what Potter would need it. The boy, or rather young man, did surprise him even more with his next question.

"Do you know where we can find flint here?" Harry asked.

"Why would we need a potion ingredient, which is most commonly used for potions to cure burns, now?" Snape countered.

"Because flint, when it's hit against the knife here, produces sparks, with which we can light a fire." Harry said.

How interesting, Severus thought, he would never have guessed that muggles had found a way to light a fire like that. He also hadn't known that flint could be used in such a way. Well, he hadn't needed to know, because usually he would use his wand for this purpose.

Which he couldn't now, thanks to his rotten luck. Why him? Why had he to be the one, being trapped here with Potter for the night and without his wand. As if either alone wasn't bad enough, but combined it was the most horrible situation he could imagine.

He was so consumed by his thoughts that he nearly forgot that Potter was still waiting for an answer. "I think we can find some flint, either near the pond, or somewhere in here," Snape finally said.

"Good," Harry said, sounding relieved. "We also need wood and dried grass. Let's go now to gather it, before it's completely dark."

With a muttered curse, Severus got up. He was exhausted and would have preferred to remain sitting here, but Potter was right. They wouldn't be able to find the things they would need for making fire in the muggle way in the darkness, without a Lumos spell to illuminate their surroundings.

Fortunately they found everything they needed soon and after some failures, Harry managed to produce a spark, which was big enough to enkindle the dried grass. Not much later they had a fire burning that was sufficient to warm them up a bit.

The half-hearted suggestion to go looking for something edible, Harry made then, was rejected. Frankly, both of them were way too exhausted to get up and leave the cave once again.

They both lay down onto the hard floor of the cave. In silent agreement, they chose opposite sides of the fire, as close to the flames as they could get, without themselves or their clothes catching fire. They didn't speak. Both weren't fond of Smalltalk and neither of them could think of any save topics to discuss, which wouldn't lead to a fight between them.

Despite the warmth, the fire emanated, Harry soon began to shiver again. He had nothing, despite the torn remains of his robes to cover himself with and the fire wasn't able to entirely keep off the coldness of the night.

Severus, of course, noticed that his companion was shivering and after thinking for a long time forth and back for a way to warm him, that wouldn't involve them being physically close, he gave up. He stood up and lay down next to his least favourite ex-student, spreading his large, red battle-cloak over both of them. It would be sufficient to warm them both, if they lay close together.

Harry was surprised to say the least, shocked would probably be a better way to describe it, when Snape got up and came over to him. He was even more shocked, when the other man lay down so close to him that he could feel Snape's warm body touching his. After Snape covered them with his cloak he lay frozen, not wanting to think about the fact, that he was this close to the cold-hearted bastard.

But once sleep caught up with him and his mind was overcome by the fuzziness of falling asleep, he relaxed and had to secretly admit that it felt rather nice, to lay there, his body touching Snape's lean, tall body in some places. Of course, he still hated Snape, but that didn't keep him from enjoying the closeness.

After all, he hadn't been this close to another person very often in his life. His continued fight against Voldemort had left him no time to even think about love, let alone to look for a lover. Sure, there had been some snogging in empty corridors or broom closets, during his time at Hogwarts, but nothing like laying this close to someone. If he concentrated he could hear Snape's steady breathing, it was oddly comforting.

Normally, Severus would have had problems, sleeping next to another person, something he wasn't at all accustomed to. He wouldn't admit it, even under the influence of the Cruciatus Curse, but it felt rather nice to feel Potter's body touching his in some places. It had been years since anyone had been this close to him and he secretly savoured the feeling.

Of course, he still hated Potter, but that didn't hinder him from enjoying the closeness. Potter radiated body heat and this close he could clearly see the way the flickering fire seemed to enhance the boy's natural beauty. It was odd, but he liked the way that the flames drew moving shadows on Potter's face. A thought which disturbed him very much. Liking anything about Potter, where had that come from? He closed his eyes, to keep himself from further looking at the boy and let his mind fall into the realms of dreams.

They both were soon sound asleep, unconsciously moving even closer to one another, so that their position could be described as snuggling. They both would have been horrified if someone had watched them and pointed out the fact, that they were indeed snuggling, to them. But as they were alone in the cave, without any watchers, they simply slept and enjoyed the feeling of closeness and warmth.

_A/N: Read it? Enjoyed it? Please review!_


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: Thank you all so much for reviewing! I really didn't expect to get so much feedback on this. And here it is, another chapter. It is unbetaed, so please excuse any mistakes I've missed. If you've waited for some HP/SS hotness, you'll have to wait until the next chapter. We're with the Order once again, but there is at least some kissing. Now on to the fic, I hope you'll like it._

§ The next morning, at the Order's Headquarters at Number 12 Grimmauld Place §

With a soft kiss to her still sleeping husband's cheek, Molly Weasley got up and quickly put on a dressing gown. It was morning, well rather dawn at that, but Harry hadn't come back yet. She had demanded to be woken up the very moment he arrived and as nobody had come to wake her -not that it would have been necessary, because she had tossed and turned around the whole night, not being able to sleep - he had to be still somewhere out there on the battle field.

Albus had promised her, that they would go searching for him this morning and galloping Gargoyles wouldn't be able to keep her here and let them go without her. She simply had to be a member of the search party. She was as good as Harry's mother and she had to find him and make sure that he was all right. The sooner the better.

But the only thing she could do at the moment, was waiting for Albus and the others to wake up, which wouldn't be for another hour at least. It was scarcely 5 o'clock, hardly a proper time for anyone to be already awake. Considering the long night they had had, with exhausted and injured fighters in need of medical care, apparating in until well past midnight, it was to be expected that everyone would stay in bed as long as possible. Except for herself, of course, but she was used to getting up early and wouldn't be able to sleep anyway.

Determined, she walked down the stairs to the kitchen and began to prepare breakfast for everyone. That would keep her busy for a while and hopefully distract her thoughts from her worries about Harry.

They hadn't heard any news concerning him or the Dark Lord. Both hadn't been seen since the late afternoon yesterday. At least, it seemed like the Order had accomplished to capture all of the Death Eaters, but before they knew for sure that Voldemort was dead and wouldn't return again, nobody dared to celebrate.

Molly would be so glad to hear that You-Know-Who was destroyed and Harry was alive and back here again.

Once someone would tell her that the war was finally over, she would first bake a cake, big enough to feed the whole Order with. Then when everyone was stuffed with cake, she would grab Arthur and the bottle of finest Ogden's Old Firewhisky she had savoured for exactly that occasion and privately celebrate with him for the next three days.

She planned it to be something like a second honeymoon for them, maybe resulting into her bearing another little Weasley girl or boy. She would like to have another child, now that all of her children were adults and didn't really needed her anymore, to look after them.

Molly had thought about it for some time now, but it wasn't save, as long as they were still in the middle of a war, to get pregnant again. She had already experienced how it was to bear a child during a war with Ron and later also with Ginny, who both had been born during Voldemorts first attempt to take over the wizarding world. She hadn't wanted to go through that another time. The permanent fear for her unborn child, fear that they would be attacked, would be killed, because she couldn't defend herself and hers properly, during the final few months of the pregnancy.

But once the war would be over and they would be save once more, it would be nice to have a little one to look after. Yes, that was her big plan for when the Dark Lord would be gone for good. She hoped with every fibre of her being that it would be soon.

§§§

Sirius woke up groaning. He had to admit, that he slowly was becoming to old for spending most of the night crammed into a wooden chair. His whole body was protesting, several of his muscles ached and he was entirely too stiff. He groggily opened his eyes to find Remus awake and looking at him from the bed. Once his still sleepy brain registered what he was seeing, he wanted to bounce with joy, but his aching body wouldn't allow him to do that anytime soon. So he settled for leaning forward and pressing a smacking kiss on his startled lover's lips.

"Moony, you're awake!" Sirius exclaimed after he was finished kissing Remus. "That means you feel better, right?" he asked.

"You know Padfoot, you could warn a guy before suddenly attacking him like that," Remus said chuckling. "It isn't very polite to pounce on a poor injured werewolf and start kissing him."

"You're joking, sure sign that you're feeling better again," Sirius said, a big smile lighting up his entire face.

"Yes, Sirius, I do feel better. Not exactly as good as new, but better," Remus said. "Did you catch the herd of rampaging Hippogriffs that hit me?" he asked mock seriously. "Because I surely feel like it. As if it was the day after the full moon and I didn't take my wolfsbane in time."

"You know, what hit you was actually a Stunning spell mixed with some nasty curse we couldn't identify. You made me worry pretty much, when you wouldn't wake up," Sirius said.

"I'm sorry about having frightened you," Remus said, gently taking his lovers hand in his. "I promise it won't happen again."

Sirius snorted. "Tell that your grandmother Moony, trouble somehow manages to find you far too often for my taste."

"And that is coming from the one who nearly got himself killed during Voldemort's attack on the ministry, because he had to rush in without thinking about possible consequences first, to save his godson, who wasn't actually in danger at that time. If I hadn't shoved you out of the way from Bellatrix curse in time..." Remus countered.

"Will you rub that under my nose forever? That has been years ago and I have learned my lesson then. First thinking, then acting. As you let me repeat until that phrase started to even haunt me in my dreams," Sirius said. He pressed a kiss on Remus hand. "I'm so glad that you're still among us, I wouldn't know what to do without you."

Remus pulled him closer so that his lips could reach Sirius' mouth, his hands tangled into the Animagus' long black hair, to hold him in place. They shared another kiss. Tongues licking, tasting, exploring, battling for dominance, desperate to rediscover familiar territory and claim it once again. They didn't stopped kissing until breathing became an issue and they had separate reluctantly.

"I'm glad, that I'm still here with you, too," Remus said a little breathlessly afterwards. "Wouldn't want to travel to the afterlife without my favourite canine in tow, to explore it with me," he added.

"Oh Moony," Sirius said and shock his head, smiling sadly. "You know I would follow you everywhere, even to a place as far away as that."

"I know Sirius, but I hope there is still some time left until we'll have to leave for that journey. There are so much things we have to do, first. I want to travel the world, once the war is over. Like I did when you were taken away from me, but this time I'm going to take you along with me. There are so many beautiful places I want to show you. I want to chase you through the jungles, climb on the highest mountains with you and once we are tired of travelling, I want to settle down somewhere and grow old with you."

"Yes, Remus, I want to do all that with you too, once the war is over."

Remus looked at Sirius, smiling. Their gazes met and promises were silently exchanged, promises of a future, they intended to spend together. Finally, Remus broke the eye contact and asked the questions, which had lain on his tongue since he had woken up. Suddenly he wasn't sure anymore if he wanted to hear the answers to them, but he needed to know anyway. "How does matters stand? Has Harry achieved to defeated Voldemort? Is the battle still going on?"

"We don't know. The Death Eaters are either captured or killed, but we haven't heard anything about Harry or Voldemort, since yesterday afternoon. It's as if the two of them have suddenly disappeared somehow. We are going to look for Harry later this morning, I hope, that we'll find him still alive." Sirius said.

"I wish I could go with you." Remus said, assuringly squeezing his lover's hand. "But as I'll have to stay here for some longer, I can only accompany you with my thoughts. I'm sure you're going to find him."

"But what if we don't? What if he's dead? I couldn't live with the knowledge that I would have been able to help him if I had been there, but decided to stay with you instead. He is my godson, it's my duty to look after him."

"You could have done nothing Padfoot. It is his destiny to defeat Voldemort, not yours. You wouldn't have been able to relieve him of that burden even if you had been there. The prophecy allows no interference, it has to be the two of them in the end."

"But..." Sirius broke off, Remus was, as always, right. If you looked at it this way, his presence wouldn't have made any difference.

"I think you should get going now, love," Remus said. "Go looking for Harry. I know you, you won't get any peace before you find him."

"Is it okay if I leave you alone? I'd rather not be going too far away from you at the moment," Sirius said.

"Go, already. I'll be perfectly fine on my own for a few hours. I'm tired anyway."

"Really?"

"Yes, really. Now go before I use that Floo hex on you, if you remember how that itched the last time, you won't want to risk it."

Sirius tried to look horrified at that, it wasn't entirely an act. He still remembered scratching his skin raw, because it wouldn't stop to itch. He had played an embarrassing prank on Remus during their 6th year at Hogwarts and the werewolf had used that particular spell, to make Sirius pay for it.

The flee wouldn't go away despite everything he tried to get rid of them, it had been horrible. Fortunately Remus had had pity on him after two days and had given him a special anti-floo potion, otherwise he would probably have become insane. It was the last time he had tried to prank Remus, the effects simply weren't worth it.

Sirius stood up and quickly pressed a good-bye kiss to his lover's lips. "Sweet Dreams, Moony," he said before he went downstairs to look for the others.

§§§

As he entered the kitchen, Mrs. Weasley was already busy cooking breakfast. As soon as he sat down at the table, she levitated a plate with fried bacon and scrambled eggs over to him. "Thanks, Molly," he said. "Are the others already awake?"

"No, you're the first to come here. They are probably still sleeping," she answered.

"Do you think we will find Harry in time?" he asked. Sirius was still worried about the possibility of his godson being bonded to Snape. He hadn't mentioned anything about the link to Remus, not wanting to upset his lover about something, that might not happen if they could help it. He simply needed to prevent it. Snivellus should stay well away from Harry, if he savoured his continued existence.

"I hope so," Molly answered. "I really hope that we do."

They couldn't speak about it further, because Tonks choose that moment to stumble inside. Her hair was rainbow coloured for a change and she looked pretty tired. "Morning, guys," she said before falling into a chair. "Is there any coffee around, Molly, 'cause I could use a really big cup of it, right now."

Molly filled a cup with coffee and added sugar and milk to it. She levitated it to Tonks, who grabbed it as soon as it was within reach and began to gulp it down. "Thank you, Molly you're the best, 't was exactly what I needed."

"Do you want a refill?" Molly asked.

"Sure, the more coffee, the better my chances to stay awake." Tonks answered, holding out her cup for the nearby hovering coffee-pot to do its duty. Molly came over to them with two plates. Placing one in front of Tonks, she sat down too and began to eat.

Soon Albus and Hermione joined them in the kitchen and sat down to eat, Hermione was quietly chatting with Tonks and Molly while she emptied her plate. Ron, as Hermione told them, was still sleeping. He had apparently killed Draco Malfoy in the battle yesterday. It had been the first time for him to use the killing curse on a human being and even if he had never liked Malfoy, it had been difficult to use it on someone he knew, had a history with, instead of some faceless stranger. He would need some time to cope with it and Hermione had decided not to wake him.

Arthur came down too. He was unusually quiet, just sitting there and sipping on his tea. Harry's absence troubled him as much as it did his wife and after what she had told him last night, about the possibility of a permanent bonding with Snape, he wanted to join the search party to hopefully find them in time to prevent it, if they were still alive.

After they all had finished eating, Albus addressed them: "As Harry and Severus haven't come back last night and nobody has reported them dead, we are going to search for them now. This isn't an official mission, so I will force none of you to accompany me. Everyone who wants to be a member of the search party, should raise their hand now."

Everyone present raised a hand, they all wanted to help, despite their exhaustion.

"I knew I could count on you, my children. Well, now that that's settled, you may go back to your rooms to change. We will meet here in...I think half an hour will be sufficient." Albus said. The Headmaster looked tired this morning, as if he hadn't been able to sleep much last night too.

They all left the kitchen to dress quickly and gather the things, they would need.

After the half hour had passed and the six of them were once more gathered in the kitchen, they apparated to the battlefield, near to the place where Harry had last been seen. There they separated into pairs of two, to cover a bigger area in their search for any signs on Harry's and Snape's whereabouts.

Molly and Arthur went together, of course. They had chosen to cover the woods to the left. Once they had reached their destination, they began to scan the ground for any tracks, burn marks or anything else that would help them. Both of them had drawn their wands out of its holsters, in case they would find something. It had been decided that whoever found any clues on where Harry or Snape had disappeared to, would shoot red sparks up in the air to alert the rest of the search party, to join them.

They had been wandering the area for about an hour, when they saw a fountain of red sparks rise over the trees to their left. The couple immediately went to whomever had summoned them. Only to find Sirius and Hermione standing there and pressing their raised hands against thin air.

"What are you two doing?" Molly asked puzzled.

"There seems to be something there Mrs. Weasley," Hermione said. "Some kind of barrier that prevents us from going further into this direction. Here stretch out your hand to feel for yourself."

"She's right Molly," Sirius added. "There's really something there and it reeks of power."

Molly tentatively did as Hermione had said and her hand did indeed meet a powerful resistance. Her husband followed her lead and after touching it too, came to the same result. There was an invisible wall, but how? And why?

Then Dumbledore and Tonks, who had been further away when they saw the signal, arrived.

"What's going on here?" Tonks asked, as soon as she came within hearing range. "Why are the four of you standing there like zombies?"

"Would someone enlighten me please, about what is going on here?" Dumbledore too, asked curiously, once he saw their odd positions.

"Professor Dumbledore, it looks like there is something invisible, a barrier of some sort, blocking the way. I don't know exactly what it is at the moment. I suspect something, but I'll have to look it up in a couple of books first," Hermione said.

The Headmasters eyes sparked with recognition at her words, his expression became darker as he started speaking: "That shall not be necessary my child. I am afraid, that I already know what it is. Of course, there always was the chance that this could happen, but I doubted that it would. The possibility exists only in magical theory and as it hadn't occurred before, I thought that it also wouldn't occur this time."

"What does that mean, Albus? What is it?" Arthur asked anxiously.

"The _Murus Intermundus. _The wall that exists between different realities. Somehow it has travelled from its usual place, to where we are standing right now," Dumbledore answered him, obviously deep in thoughts about something.

_A/N: Read it? Enjoyed it? Please review! I hope I'll have the next chapter finished by this weekend, but as I am a bit busy with RL right now, I sadly can't promise anything._


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